Date ArchivesOctober 2010

I noticed my dour friend Darcel updated with a new photo and it’s looking like he’s not doing so well this Halloween. He’s missing an arm, he’s sprouted some rather scraggily white hairs, he may have consumed a human skull and his eye is definitely in zombie mode. Oh, and I just noticed he’s missing a leg as well! Hopefully he gets better soon as I’m sure he has many more adventures to embark upon.

My friends over at Secret Headquarters, the best comic shop in Los Angeles, are releasing a set of posters inspired by the comic book The Walking Dead in honor of it television debut on AMC tomorrow night. The posters were inspired by shooting range targets and feature the artwork of Jordan Crane, Lisa Hanawalt, Jon Vermilyea and Johnny Ryan. I think this is such a fun idea, I mean, I already love how shooting range posters look so having 4 talented artists creating around that theme is awesome. If you want one of these for yourself click here.

Finding new applications for older materials is always nice when it’s new and unique, and these ceramic tops for Rubin Álvarez’s line of yogurts is exactly that. Designed by Zoo Studio these yogurt containers are protected a rather standard looking cardboard tube with a lid which is sealed by some kind of ceramic top that’s been air dried. I also love the way you use the string to breakthrough the ceramic to open the jar, I bet that would be so much fun to do, like when you open a paper FedEx envelope.

This is such a unique way of packaging an item, especially something so simple as a jar of yogurt. Nonetheless it’s a remarkable idea that I’ve never seen used before.

I got this in my inbox and had to share it. It’s always great to get random wonderful art, especially from someone as talented as Mr. Ryan Cox is. I was kind of bummed that this was the only Happy Halloween piece of art I got this year!

Based in Portland, artist Brett Superstar has a ridiculous last name and a bunch of great paintings posted on his blog. While only two of the paintings are space-related, the rest are just as quirky and delightful. He’s rather terse when it comes to describing himself, saying only “I love food, sleep, and Makers on the rocks.” This doesn’t help me tell you about him… other than I think he may be an alcoholic (or just dressed as one for Halloween.)

Not sure what you should be for Hellaween? Maybe you can take inspiration from Superstar’s Scared Sheep.

Alex

PS: Honestly, it was hard to resist the urge to post halloween, cutesy photos of dogs dressed as astronauts.

The premise of Vahram Muratyan’s Paris vs New York: A tally of two cities is to present a “friendly visual match between those two cities, as seen by a Parisian-based-and-lover on New York: details, cliches and contradictions.” Muratyan, who is the co-founder of art direction and graphic design studio ViiZ, has created a blog that is not only visually striking, but also charming, witty and a little bit cheeky. The juxtaposition of the various icons of the two cities and the details that make up their urban identity is explored through subjects as diverse as bread (baguette vs. bagel), the weather and pests (Parisian pigeon vs. New York rat). I can’t wait to see this project develop further.

So many things going on! I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet lately but I promise that it’s all for you. Better site, better design, better content, more of what you love, free puppies! But seriously, there’s a lot of big things happening behind the scenes right now that will come to fruition in the next couple weeks.

First things first, if you wouldn’t mind taking this quick survey for me, I’d totally appreciate it. I’ve made this blog for primarily me for the past 3.5 years but I’ve started to realize that I need to listen to you and your opinions more. This is growing beyond just a silly project of mines so this is your chance to let me know how I’m doing and what I should be doing better.

Your reward for taking the short quiz is a brand new Mixtape by the amazing Punchy! You may remember him from his Mixtape from two years ago called HELLAWEEN which is still my most downloaded mixtape ever. He’s back now with HELLAWEEN II / The Return of Punchy, an even dancier mix that’s perfect for getting ready for your Halloween party or driving around town to the next party you’re headed to. As you can see from the tracklist this is not the usual lineup of artists that would be featured on the site, but I’m having no problem dancing to this! A big thanks to Adam for the mix!

If when watching a film I am confronted with a character who spontaneously breaks into song, I decree the film over. My toes start to involuntarily curl and any investment that I had in the plot is completely destroyed. To be honest, I feel embarrassed. I can’t help but think, “Why are you singing? Do the hills really need to be alive with the sound of music?” I have just never been able to accept the embedded logic of film musicals that utilise singing interludes to develop and punctuate emotionally heightened scenes. There is, however, an exception to this rule: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Yes, it’s camp, kitsch, over the top and burgeoning on tacky, but if you’re going to sing in a film I figure you may as well do it in fishnet tights, lipstick and suspenders (I should stress that this only applies to men so Liza Minnelli’s performance in Cabaret [1972] cannot be included).

“What is Rocky Horror anyway? It’s just some rock and roll music, a little foot tapping, a few jokes, a bit of sex.”

– Richard O’Brien

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which began life as a musical stage production, couldn’t be more perfect for midnight screenings and fervent audience participation. From the opening number “Science Fiction/Double Feature”, the film sets itself up as deliciously self-reflexive, uninhibitedly bizarre and rather enamoured with schlocky B-grade movie clichés. Following the newly engaged Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon), the film centres on their encounter with Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) and the crazy band of misfits staying in his castle. The birth of gold spandex-wearing Rocky (Peter Hinwood), a handful of murders, an appearance by Meat Loaf, singing, sex, dancing and general madness ensue.

Jim Sharman, who both directed the film and wrote the screenplay with Rocky Horror creator Richard O’Brien, is predominantly known for his role as a theatre director and this is reflected in his rather straightforward filming style. However, given the film’s blatant homage to British Hammer Horror cinema, Sharman’s approach to film direction can be viewed as a pastiche of the naïve, gothic visual look of these films. From the costuming (Victorian corsets for men, anyone?) to the props to the settings, Rocky Horror gives postmodern appropriation and parody the tongue-in-cheek treatment it deserves.

Looking beyond the fact that the performances are brilliant and the songs are insanely catchy, the film is also a wonderful exploration of subversion – it is sexually subversive, aesthetically subversive and certainly a huge contrast to the majority of saccharine musicals that had previously been cinematically released. I am aware that there are a number of people out there who really don’t like this film. Perhaps they have yet to enjoy the fun of doing the “time warp” or maybe they are unable to appreciate the beauty of Tim Curry dancing around in heels proclaiming that he is a “sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania.”

This video starts in 1947, when Danish Urban Planners traced a giant hand over a map of Copenhagen and the Finger Plan was born: each digit becoming a means of connecting the city to the suburbs. Fifty years after someone felt up the map, BIG has introduced a plan for the next fifty years: LOOP City. LOOP City develops around a future rail line and addresses some of the biggest challenges facing CPH by combining this infrastructure with architectural programming. Bjarke Ingels (founder of BIG) talks about LOOP City briefly here, and longer here.

Even if Danish Urban Planning doesn’t get you too excited, the animation is great: projected on two perpendicular walls with a 3-D bridge form connecting the two. If you have trouble reading the bubbles, try watching these versions of the video, which BIG created with help from Kollision and Cavi.